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Author	Topic: The "Brooklyn Force" pregame thread: Picture locked.
AdamBertocci Title: Manager: Fan Films Registered: Feb '02	Date Posted: 3/11 8:07am Subject: RE: The "Brooklyn Force" pregame thread.
	Bit the bullet and e-mailed people asking if we can try to set a rain date next weekend. Right now things are juuuust on that line where it might be a rain-out. Ugh. Eric is going to be in LA for much of April, so it's really important that we get this day knocked off beforehand. If we don't, I'm worried about losing an actor. (I also want to have some footage to show at the New York Comic-Con in mid-April, at which I will be speaking, but that's completely secondary.) This has turned into the project of a thousand delays, which I have learned to live with. I'm not absurdly concerned with trying to beat this year's AtomFilms contest deadline; it'd be nice, but I'd rather miss the deadline than rush the editing or music. I'm not gunning for a specific film festival or to please some investor or to complete a school assignment. All I care about for _me_ is making a good short film. Nonetheless, when people have made a commitment to you and you have to say "guys, what about something else?", it's not fun. I know it's not my fault (other than the general sin of trying to shoot in New York in spring), but I feel like a schmuck nonetheless. Rick McCallum loves you! -----signature----- "Run Leia Run", "The Chopped-Off Hands of Star Wars", and "The Fan Film Menace" ... check 'em out. http://www.runleiarun.com MarriedVespin?!
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AdamBertocci Title: Manager: Fan Films Registered: Feb '02	Date Posted: 3/12 10:12am Subject: RE: The "Brooklyn Force" pregame thread. - Date Edited: 3/12 12:33pm (2 edits total) Edited By: AdamBertocci
	We've picked a rain date, but we might not even need it; weather for the intended shoot date is becoming more promising. (To be continued!) If threats of rain subside, our biggest problem will be wind. I re-storyboarded the last scene of the film to eliminate walk-and-talk; it's now going to be, I think, stay still, talk, then walk. Nothin' like a coupla girls sittin' on a curb to suggest indie film. It'll be easier to shoot, too. What I'd like to do is explain why I did such a thing for the benefit of our younger filmmakers and such, because it involves a brand-new directing technique I've never tried before. For reasons I can't explain--maybe as just a confidence-builder, I dunno--last night I took the whole shoot binder out and directed as if it was there in front of me... shot by shot in the order I plan to do things, describing how I wish to frame each thing, talking to the actors. I've heard of actors rehearsing, but directors? I'm not going to claim that this is an exciting technique everyone here should try. I've directed many scenes on this level of complexity and never undertook such an activity. You don't hear stories about Steven Spielberg practicing his directing in his trailer on the morning of. But I'll tell you this: as soon as I started describing shots and actions for the last scene, I realized, "No. This isn't working for me." And I immediately knew what I had to be. Drew the boards after dinner. Easy-peasy. I think it's the first time I've ever enjoyed storyboarding, honestly. Rick McCallum loves you! -----signature----- "Run Leia Run", "The Chopped-Off Hands of Star Wars", and "The Fan Film Menace" ... check 'em out. http://www.runleiarun.com MarriedVespin?!
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Ripper Registered: Mar '02	Date Posted: 3/13 2:56pm Subject: RE: The "Brooklyn Force" pregame thread.
	I'm excited -----signature----- "...I must have changed at Kings Cross" Jedied - Coming Soon http://www.thebiscuit.org
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AdamBertocci Title: Manager: Fan Films Registered: Feb '02	Date Posted: 3/14 1:33pm Subject: RE: The "Brooklyn Force" pregame thread. - Date Edited: 3/14 1:33pm (1 edits total) Edited By: AdamBertocci
	This afternoon I made the executive decision to cancel this Sunday's shoot. It was a less clear-cut call than I expected it would be... instead of getting blindsided by snow and rain, it's going to start the day off wet-crappy and then go to iffy-but-generally-dry-crappy, reducing our shooting window and making all involved miserable. Also, high winds to the point of audio ruination and potential physical danger. It's just not worth it. I wish I coulda called it earlier, but it really was up in the air for a while, and I'm a hopeful sort. You might assume I'm terribly depressed or miserable. The truth is, those feelings come when the day is first threatened. All I really cared about today was solidifying a decision so I could allow cast and crew to go make plans for the cancelled day, to be fair to them. The shoot? Ffft; by the time it's actually time to take the patient off life support I've transitioned into the acceptance phase. Gallows humor aside, I have high hopes for the rescheduled shoot. Just need to find a coupla crewfolk and hope no one has to bail. It's funny how this project has reminded me of the weird way Star Wars fans and non-fans don't have the same knowledge set, particularly when it comes to the mysterious world of fan filmmaking. Carolyn told me that apparently SpikeTV is showing all the SW films this spring. Imagine her surprise when I told her that Spike also shows fan films on occasion from the very collection we're submitting this to! The shoot is now scheduled for March 22. Your positive vibes are welcome. Rick McCallum loves you! -----signature----- "Run Leia Run", "The Chopped-Off Hands of Star Wars", and "The Fan Film Menace" ... check 'em out. http://www.runleiarun.com MarriedVespin?!
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Teague Registered: Apr '06	Date Posted: 3/14 2:01pm Subject: RE: The "Brooklyn Force" pregame thread.
	Hey, even Tunisia got blown apart. -----signature----- Teague "Fig" Chrystie Zoic Studios Co-Host / "Geekza!" / http://www.geekza.com - What happens when you take a handful of insane, pro FX artists and give them a microphone? http://www.myspace.com/figchrystie
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AdamBertocci Title: Manager: Fan Films Registered: Feb '02	Date Posted: 3/19 11:37am Subject: RE: The "Brooklyn Force" pregame thread.
	^ When you commented that, I looked up the Tunisia shoot in my Making of SW book. Guess what date of the year was ANH's start? (hint: March 22) The last days are approaching and you would think I'd have a lot to say. Yet no updates. Curious? Not really. I am a planner by nature, and the more we plan in advance, the less we have to worry about in the last week. I've been busy at work, which helps to fill the hours temporally and psychologically. Attempting to rustle up a crew has been more difficult than I thought, but the only thing I actually have to _do_ for this film before Saturday, besides write a coupla e-mails, is get one more crew person confirmed. I can do that. Yesterday the weather prediction swung into unpleasant territory. The day will still be largely clear, it seems, but dammit, I don't want to read "few snow showers" on my day. Even if it just means that once or twice a fifteen-minute shutdown will occur. It's still demoralizing. I want what I had before, the partly cloudy day with no pictures of things falling from the sky. More detailed forecasts will be available tomorrow. But I am not afforded the luxury of waiting for a perfect day. Systems are go. If the day becomes unshootable, we will cancel, but it has to make that move. I lose my cool too quickly. I become frightened and need someone to hold my hand. I talk to God and ask Him to fix everything for me. I still think we'll have a good shoot on Saturday. I just wish it could be handed to me on a silver platter. This is why I'm not cut out for producing/directing as a career. It's much easier to do this all on paper. Rick McCallum loves you! -----signature----- "Run Leia Run", "The Chopped-Off Hands of Star Wars", and "The Fan Film Menace" ... check 'em out. http://www.runleiarun.com MarriedVespin?!
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AdamBertocci Title: Manager: Fan Films Registered: Feb '02	Date Posted: 3/20 7:59pm Subject: RE: The "Brooklyn Force" pregame thread.
	A very strange thing has happened. There is not all that much left for me to do. The crew, such as it is, has been hired, such as THAT is. GIHB co-founder Kent in one corner--I'm so glad he's able to help, it just wouldn't be right without him--and Eric's filmmaking partner Brandon, who I have associated with on a coupla projects but have not yet had the chance to 'hire' as a producer. One of the great pleasures of the way I make movies, using the same cast and crew from film to film, is seeing the repetition and difference as people join the little group and stay on from project to project, like a high school class moving from the freshman page of the yearbook to the senior. It's a small crew, nothing like my little armies on my college films. But that was that environment and this is this. Hell, on _this_ shoot, I wouldn't know what to DO with twenty crew members if that many people showed up! (Not that I have twenty favors to call in. Heh.) The weather has settled. I don't mean that it's gotten to a perfect dry state, but the storm is gonna swing south of us; experts agree that the most Brooklyn will get is an odd flurry or quickie shower that can be waited on, posing no risk to man or machine that can't be solved with an umbrella. Did God answer my prayers? Or is this just the clockwork of the universe? A Force, if you will? My feelings on those matters are not a subject for this time; I will just say that we got here, and assuming no fires to put out arise, all I need to do is prepare a call sheet to put out tomorrow morning. Brooklyn awaits. Rick McCallum loves you! -----signature----- "Run Leia Run", "The Chopped-Off Hands of Star Wars", and "The Fan Film Menace" ... check 'em out. http://www.runleiarun.com MarriedVespin?!
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AdamBertocci Title: Manager: Fan Films Registered: Feb '02	Date Posted: 3/21 10:11am Subject: RE: The "Brooklyn Force" pregame thread.
	So much for having nothing to do. Last night I was idly browsing the interesting historical context of our main location when I tripped across a rather horrifying fact: it is state, not city, property, and is staffed by park rangers who are notorious for throwing people with cameras out. (Even photographers, or high school kids with camcorders.) So this morning I was up at 7 AM and in Williamsburg at 8:30 to pick a new place to stage the scene. "You must have been panicked!" you say. Not at all, curiously. Not one drop of sweat. Was I mad? Yes. Cursing my bad scouting job? Yes. But not worried. Because I'd done my homework. I knew what was where. I just needed to make a decision. It's all in the preparation. Anyway now I sit and wait. Refresh the weather. Still as promising as ever. Hell, earlier today it was damn near perfect. With less than 24 hours to go I sit and stare out my window not in panic or fear, but with the longing look of a boy who's not allowed to go out and play until he's done his homework. I'm all ready to go. I'm vaguely irritated that complete strangers aren't coming up to me on the street and asking how preparations are going. Rick McCallum loves you! -----signature----- "Run Leia Run", "The Chopped-Off Hands of Star Wars", and "The Fan Film Menace" ... check 'em out. http://www.runleiarun.com MarriedVespin?!
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AdamBertocci Title: Manager: Fan Films Registered: Feb '02	Date Posted: 3/22 8:48pm Subject: RE: The "Brooklyn Force" pregame thread: Day 1 is in the can.
	I felt God with me on the train ride into the city today. A feeling of calm and peace and ordinariness, as if I were just going to work or to visit a friend, not to shoot this day I'd been worrying about for ages. Arrived at our location about half an hour before our 10:30 call time. Some stupid truck was going "beep, beep, beep" fairly continually. I walked back and forth, running lines, cursing the truck and the endless procession of cars driving on the road perpendicular from ours. But weather was perfect--I'll spare you the suspense, not one single solitary drop or flake the whole day--and I was feeling good. Lisa arrived first. (Or maybe Dana, but Lisa's arrival is more interesting.) She was wearing black, as I'd asked, but not just any black--she'd brought a long coat, looking smart and classy, with red underneath. (For someone playing our Darth Maul analogue, that is astonishingly perfect.) Her coat even had a hood. Screw the robe I'd bought secondhand, her outfit was perfect. I didn't even show her the one I brought. Then the crew came via car service; Eric and Brandon sort of spilled out, and all the equipment (less than I'd expected--it was all quite compact) came out at once. And then everyone else showed up all at once. We got a late start. Carolyn was half an hour late, which is not what I've come to expect from her, and it was slow going to get the first coupla shots off... we were still figuring out what we were doing. It's important to not make your first few shots the most complex in the bunch. You gotta warm up to it. I confess I was frightened at first that we were running slow. You see, it's all about preparation. I owe the quickness of today's shoot (and it was very, very quick all things considered) to preparation--meticulous storyboarding, a detailed shot list, and careful planning as to what order to do the shots in. I did not prepare all the scenes as thoroughly as I did the big one, and as a result mistakes... small ones, thank God... happened. (I'll discuss later.) A few strange notes before I proceed: - Under no circumstances should you as a director put yourself through a scene where you have to shake and convulse around and otherwise rattle your head. It slows down the planning of the next coupla shots considerably. - There will always be more cars passing on the day of shooting than at any other day you have ever in your life visited that location. - Lightsaber toys these days are not as sturdy or as smoothly-designed as they used to be. - None of the girls, to my knowledge, ever used the bathroom the whole day. I don't know how they did it. We wrapped the 'main unit' around 4:30, and then wandered around Williamsburg getting montage shots of the neighborhood. A nice circular tour. I confess I got really greedy, but I think we got some good stuff. Wrapped at 5:05. (Five minutes after we planned to wrap. This is with tacking on an extended montage shoot. Awesome.) The total breakdown: First scene shot (confrontation) - 31 scripted shots, plus a coupla bits we added or broke into two. All in the can. Second scene shot (Luke and villain wrapup) - 3 scripted shots, only 2 taken. I am stupid and forgot to do my last shot in the movie. We will either do it in Bed-Stuy with a closeup of my head against the sky (that sounds like the opening line of an Eliot poem I'm fond of...), or give the voice of Obi-Wan the line. (Not kidding.) Third scene shot (girls wrapup) - 8 scripted shots plus a couple we added. Fourth scene shot (ending) - 7 scripted shots plus a couple we added. Forgot to do an insert of an iPod because I was rushing to get Lisa wrapped. If I still need that shot after I edit, it can be done in Bed-Stuy without much trouble, heh. Then a montage, of course. All in six and a half hours. I can't stress this enough, people: preparation. If there are young filmmakers who are reading this, well, learn well, kiddos. All the footage is now fed to Ariel (my computer, for those not familiar). I have looked at a shot here and there, but just out of curiosity--oh, what's this shot, ooh, is the sound good on this, you know. It would not be fair to the footage to look at it for the first time while this tired (and I am tired). The fun begins tomorrow. I was pretty lucky today. I know that. Photos and screengrabs and such forthcoming. Rick McCallum loves you! -----signature----- "Run Leia Run", "The Chopped-Off Hands of Star Wars", and "The Fan Film Menace" ... check 'em out. http://www.runleiarun.com MarriedVespin?!
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AdamBertocci Title: Manager: Fan Films Registered: Feb '02	Date Posted: 3/24 4:59am Subject: RE: The "Brooklyn Force" pregame thread: Day 1 is in the can. - Date Edited: 3/24 11:19am (3 edits total) Edited By: AdamBertocci
	After a Sunday morning spent logging the footage in my clumsy way (stupid 31-shot scene and no slating), I confess that cutting something seemed almost superfluous; it's like, haven't I worked hard enough already? I did a rough cut of the big confrontations scene today; it's running three minutes, which is too long, but I know I can beat it down. It's a tough scene to cut, honestly... the best thing about it (four peoples' coverage to cut to) is also the worst (four people to keep track of and check in with). I've only cut one four-person scene before, it was much shorter and two of those people were effectively a one-person unit. I worked a few shots at a time, really. Sat down, did four or five shots. Read something, went for a walk, ate some chocolate. Cut a few more shots. Dribs and drabs. But you don't want to hear about this, you want to see PICTURES FROM SHOOT DAY #1! PRODUCTION STILLS A bridge in Brooklyn. But not THAT bridge. Luke struggles with important issues in life. This image more or less sums up the dichotomy of the two styles and mindsets of this film, and also shows hot girls. See above. I'LL NEVER JOIN YOU! (Seriously, I won't.) Zap. Whosoever taketh this sword shall King of All England be! Gettin' all choked up. Feel free to rotoscope over this picture. (That is NOT a euphemism, people!) Every Sith is familiar with the Dave Prowse Fists-and-Gestures School of Acting. New York, it's a hell of a town. And here are a few production stills. Zaaaaap! Grippin'! America's Next Top Mauldel! Makin' movies! A strange thought: Looking at these photos and comparing them to the way I imagined the film from the beginning, I find it interesting that they look more... well, real. As if the backgrounds and textures in the storyboards of my mind had always been emptier, blurrier, like washes of color that only represented the real thing. Does this make sense? I can't remember feeling this way about any other film I've directed. Huh. Rick McCallum loves you! -----signature----- "Run Leia Run", "The Chopped-Off Hands of Star Wars", and "The Fan Film Menace" ... check 'em out. http://www.runleiarun.com MarriedVespin?!
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DVeditor Title: Evil Overlord (manager) Fan Films & Icons Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 3/25 10:42am Subject: RE: The "Brooklyn Force" pregame thread: Day 1 PICS! With CUTE GIRLS!
	I think it makes perfect sense - sometimes you can have the "look" in mind but then see it come to life on set. That's a good thing to have to think about methinks. AdamBertocci posted: America's Next Top Mauldel! -----signature----- CK Hicks http://www.ckhicks.com http://dveditor.deviantart.com TFN on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2202937735
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AdamBertocci Title: Manager: Fan Films Registered: Feb '02	Date Posted: 3/26 6:34pm Subject: RE: The "Brooklyn Force" pregame thread: Day 1 PICS! With CUTE GIRLS!
	I've been editing, on and off. Deliberately have been trying to be touch-and-go about it, no marathon sessions. I like to massage the cut a few shots at a time. Four or five brief sessions over the course of a day and little problems seem to work themselves out. Right now I have a rough cut of everything from the confrontation scene forward (i.e. everything shot on Saturday except the montage). It wasn't easy, sometimes. To be perfectly frank, most of my scenes in the past have been pretty simply shot, master-and-two-shots-for-coverage stuff, and these bad boys are sprawlers. Only today did I become happy with all these scenes. I always knew there was an elephant somewhere in all this marble, but didn't find it till today. It's too damn long--about five minutes thirty seconds, with the confrontation scene clocking in just under three--and unless I start cutting lines, I don't know what the heck to do. I had to break a rule of mine for this edit. Normally I am excellent at being able to watch a rough cut with audio holes, temp shots, crappy mixes, blatantly wrong color and what have you, and see it not as it is but how it will be. For whatever reason, I lost that ability for this project, and so my timeline is littered with ambient noise and sound effects and even a couple of VFX shots. Here's a funny thing, by the way. None of the lightsabers have been rotoscoped yet, it's all plastic toy blades, but the sound effects are in. I swear before God that when you watch me wave around the toy saber with the sound (just the sound!) effects in, it is utterly convincing. One thing that's sort of annoying is that ADR is going to be required. In fact, of the four actors in this movie, the only one whose dialogue is completely usable right now is me. Poor actors--I know ADR is a pain in the butt. I need to get Dana's pretty soon before he leaves New York. That'll be a bittersweet moment. Rick McCallum loves you! -----signature----- "Run Leia Run", "The Chopped-Off Hands of Star Wars", and "The Fan Film Menace" ... check 'em out. http://www.runleiarun.com MarriedVespin?!
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Ripper Registered: Mar '02	Date Posted: 3/26 6:59pm Subject: RE: The "Brooklyn Force" pregame thread: Day 1 PICS! With CUTE GIRLS!
	I've been doing a lot of ADR of late, havent gotten around to lining it all up yet which is probably a mistake but anyway, you probably know this. since your like the ModGod but get a copy to your actors ASAP rather than have them relearn it whilst you try and get good takes. that is really no fun. -----signature----- "...I must have changed at Kings Cross" Jedied - Coming Soon http://www.thebiscuit.org
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AdamBertocci Title: Manager: Fan Films Registered: Feb '02	Date Posted: 4/1 9:03am Subject: RE: The "Brooklyn Force" pregame thread: Day 1 PICS! With CUTE GIRLS! - Date Edited: 4/1 9:05am (1 edits total) Edited By: AdamBertocci
	I suppose this would be as good a time as any to discuss some changes and developments in the editing process. One of the problems with editing digitally is the ability to stop and make changes at any moment. Yes, that can be great sometimes, but back in the old days, when you weren't tempted to stop and fix everything on-the-fly, you were afforded more opportunities to just sit and watch the cut and see how it played. There came a point when I just stopped opening Final Cut, and only played my scenes 5-8 edit in an unbroken QuickTime, to watch it flow. I would collect notes on paper and only address them en masse, after a few watchings. I think this helped. Recorded ADR with Dana on Saturday. It's the first time I ever did that (aside from looping a couple of my own lines in TWOTE), but we got through it okay. Then I showed him and his girlfriend a few scenes. I would ordinarily never show an actor an incomplete project, but my former producer knows the score, I think, heh. He had some good notes, most of which I was able to address. I've started, but deliberately not done too much on, scene 4, the travel montage. I don't want to get too deep into it without music, but I've sort of lined up all my favorite shots in order. It's a wonderfully textured look at this small corner of New York, and it just may earn a place among favorite scenes I've ever directed, once it's done. A lot of my day-job work is in documentary/reality stuff, so you'd think picking B-roll would be no problem for me, but there's really quite a lot of nice material I've got here, and not enough time for all of it! That's the best kind of problem to have! ANYWAY. As a reward for reading, here's a TFN exclusive for all you Star Wars nerds: my new desktop wallpaper. I just can't resist a good pun. Rick McCallum loves you! -----signature----- "Run Leia Run", "The Chopped-Off Hands of Star Wars", and "The Fan Film Menace" ... check 'em out. http://www.runleiarun.com MarriedVespin?!
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VaporTrail Registered: May '02	Date Posted: 4/1 9:07am Subject: RE: The "Brooklyn Force" pregame thread: Day 1 PICS! With CUTE GIRLS! - Date Edited: 4/1 9:09am (1 edits total) Edited By: VaporTrail
	That's funny, good placement of the logo for that pic. I do like the style of the girls though, it's modern yet fairly obvious to tell what you were going for. Good stuff. Why one is carrying a double-bladed 'saber and the other an iPod remains to be seen. AdamBertocci posted: There came a point when I just stopped opening Final Cut, and only played my scenes 5-8 edit in an unbroken QuickTime, to watch it flow. I would collect notes on paper and only address them en masse, after a few watchings. I think this helped. I need to start doing something like this. I'll be watching a clip in Vegas and basically waiting for it to get to a certain point to make sure it flows, but then I'll notice something else "I should fix real quick", which ends up taking a while, then I forget what I was doing and eventually get back to that one, but then notice other things that were fine but if I remove these two frames it flows much better. Editing takes a while. -Vaportrail -----signature----- It's not about how the story ends. It's about how they get there. http://www.youtube.com/vaportrailfilms http://thespenceleyspoileriffic.blogspot.com/
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